run away (and take me with you)
by shishiswordsman
Summary: In which Ace is a bartender who just can't catch a break, Luffy is his very little brother who should have no business in a bar, and Shakky's Rip Off has an insanely liberal policy on bringing kids inside. Sabo is just in town for a gig, nothing more. Modern AU, pre-relationship.


_**A/N: I started this fic in early August as a present for one of my best friends' birthday, and then promptly forgot about the whole thing. Forgive me for being so late Emy, but here it is at last; the pile of cutesy Modern AU fluff with a dash of awkward SaboAce you never asked for but always wanted! I hope you like it~** **This work has been betaed by the absolutely fantastic AuthenticAussie, and also big thanks to Mithril-Lace for listening to me bitch and whine about this thing. Go read both their fics and remember to comment (๑•̀ㅂ•́)** **و**_

 _ **Warnings: Cursing, some violence, inebriated people.**_  
 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of its characters, but I do own these words and this story.**_

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His ears hurt.

Sometimes Ace wonders how his little brother is able to come up with lyrics on the spot like it's nothing, but never fails to completely thrash the melody. It's something he never questions for long, of course, because listening to Luffy downright butcher some poor song is just as distracting as it is funny.

The kid is sitting on the edge of his seat with crossed legs and closed eyes, rocking back and forth and singing something that Ace suspects used to be the intro to Pokémon. He's not too sure, though; not with the new twist Luffy's given it.

He's more than used to the noisemaker that is his little brother, and only hums along and gives Luffy the occasional exasperated look. He knows that getting the kid to stop is a gargantuan task on its own.

Unfortunately, the people in the bus they are on don't seem to share Ace's opinion.

"Hey, mind telling your kid to cram it?" Some middle-aged fart says on Ace's right, and he has to remind himself not to roll his eyes at the sheer familiarity of those words. He snorts instead, pretending that he never heard the man, and nudges Luffy on his shoulder.

"Oi, Lu. What was that song about robots again?"

He offers the man a cheeky grin as Luffy smiles widely and breaks into an ear shattering rendition of… Ace is not sure what the song is called. He's not even entirely sure it's a song anymore.

In all honesty, the group of tourists a couple of rows in front of them are being much louder than Luffy, but they're speaking in a different language and the smell of alcohol and perfume is heavy in the air even to where Ace is standing. He's alone in the bus with an overly energetic seven-year-old, which makes him the easier target. Ace is used to that.

"You ought to keep your son in line," the man continues to grumble. "You younglings nowadays don't know how to discipline kids. Teach him to show some respect."

"Actually, he's my little brother." Ace gives the man a patient smile. "And I don't know about that discipline stuff. How about you ask him yourself?" he says deviously, and the man doesn't seem to notice the trap as he nods and scoots closer to Luffy.

"Say, kid, about that —"

Cutting his song short, Luffy turns to look at the man with wide, curious eyes. "What is it old man?" Luffy asks innocently, and Ace can _see_ the moment the man joins his little brother's fan club.

In the end, Ace and Luffy leave the bus with a bag of candy and an invitation to dinner sometime next week. Maybe Ace should feel bad for letting Luffy trick the man with his infallible charms, but he _so_ doesn't. Not when it earned them both a bag of only slightly sticky gummy worms.

"C'mon Luffy, give me one, too," he says as they walk toward the Rip Off, jokingly wrestling the bag of candy from Luffy's arms.

"But Ace, he gave them to me!" the boy whines, tearing the candy worms back from Ace with a huff. "Get your own."

"I _am_ getting my own. From you," Ace points out and steals a worm from Luffy when he's too caught up on glaring at his big brother to notice. He shoves a fistful into his mouth and smacks his lips approvingly. "Thanks!"

"Hey! Meanie, you - _hey!_ " Luffy grumbles half-heartedly, but his sour mood quickly melts into grins and giggles as Ace hefts him on his shoulder and takes of running toward the bar. "Shishishi, faster! We're almost there!"

Ace laughs and picks up the pace until they're practically flying to the bar. The fact that he's running late again has nothing to do with the sudden sprint. "Fast enough for you, Lu? You aren't getting dizzy now, are you?"

Childish laughter and elated yelps are Ace's only answer, and he smiles widely. Even though adopting a four-year-old on his eighteenth birthday hadn't exactly been a part of plans, and living with Luffy has definitely _not_ been smooth sailing, Ace would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

His grandfather had been very proud of himself at his bright idea to hand Luffy off to Ace. He'd boasted about getting two birds with one stone that way; teaching them both manners and keeping Ace too busy dealing with Luffy that he'd have no time for 'mischief', as Garp called it. Active pyromania and gang activity, the cops would sooner put it.

Becoming the unofficial guardian to a kid he'd only just met had seemed like a life sentence to Ace — he remembers asking Gard to turn him in and send him to prison instead, but the old geezer hadn't relented, and so Luffy had become his little brother. Ace adamantly refused to be called a father.

But it still meant he was taking care of Luffy alone, since Garp had been all too eager to return to his post as a marine. It meant not going to college just to work two jobs that only barely covered the rent of their one-bedroom apartment, and it meant taking Luffy with him to work every day because damn it if babysitters didn't cost a bloody fortune.

Ace opens the lock with one hand and puts Luffy down with the other, and they step inside Shakky's Rip Off. The bar isn't too spacious, but it's cozy and atmospheric, and fairly popular among the drunkards of Sabaody.

"Zoro!" Luffy's quick to call out before he's even entirely back on his feet, and then he's gone in a blur of red and blue. Ace scowls — he's fifteen minutes late _again_ and he knows Shakky's going to have a field day tearing him a new one for that. If she's around, that is. But Luffy had been cranky and Ace had snapped at the kid and they'd wound up missing the bus. Again _._

"Hi, Nami," he greets the woman cleaning the bar. "Long time no see and all that. How was your vacation?"

Nami offers him a smile and a seat. "It was alright," she replies with an easy smile. "I went to some resort in the south with my family. It was decent enough; great pools and an all-you-can-eat buffet. I got some gifts for you and Lu in the car."

"I'm not paying for those, you know," Ace says distractedly, out of habit. He starts unpacking Luffy's books and toys and he sets them on the table behind the bar. There's not really any other place for a child to be. It's a bar, after all, and Ace would rather keep his kid brother in his sight at all times.

He sets down a small pile of schoolwork, too, hoping to get the time to walk Luffy through them all. It's only the start of September, Ace knows, and all Luffy's class has been doing so far is read fairy tales and play games. Not exactly rocket science. But he's dealing with _Luffy_ here, and Luffy's just about the densest and the most bull-headed kid Ace knows. He's not about to let his kid brother fall behind when his class moves on to actually learning things.

They've been reading every night before bed and writing silly little notes to each other that are then discarded to _cool_ hiding spots and soon forgotten. Ace once found a note inside his glasses case, stuck in between the hinges. He's pretty sure it said _'yo'Re a sPoOn'_ in Luffy's chicken scratch of a handwriting. Ace still hasn't figured out exactly _why_ he's a spoon.

"If you ever get the money, I bet Luffy would love the place," Nami suggests cautiously. "It wasn't too pricey."

There's silence for a moment that's broken only by Luffy's loud chattering. Ace thinks of his empty bank account and the unpaid bills still left on their kitchen table, and he meets Nami's eyes with incredulity etched to his expression.

She only arches a playful brow. "I could always lend you the money, you know."

"I'll pass," Ace says, a bit snappishly. He won't repeat the mistake of borrowing money from Nami of all people. "A vacation would be nice, though."

"Kind of ironic, isn't it?" Nami muses out loud, cracking a grin, "To live in the most popular vacationing spot in the country and to be too damn piss poor to actually afford any of it."

Ace laughs with her, but his eyes flicker to Luffy and the glee slowly falls from his tone. His little brother is standing on a table a bit ways from them, telling Zoro about the gummy worms and the man in the bus who hated music. Standing on the countertop like that he's actually a bit higher up than Zoro is, forcing the bouncer to crane his neck a bit so he can meet Luffy's eyes. Ace thinks it's fucking hilarious.

Luffy's gesturing animatedly and talking a mile a minute. Ace rolls his eyes when the kid nearly falls off the table as he flails and jumps around wildly to emphasise how _good_ the worms had been and how _mean_ Ace was for stealing some. Zoro just nods along as he fingers the hilt of his practice blades, looking equal parts impassive and amused. He catches Luffy when the kid actually _does_ fall off the table.

Ace's mind wanders back to the unpaid bills - some of which he's been ignoring for a while now - and he frowns. As much as he'd like to take Luffy with him on a trip that wasn't limited to just getting groceries or going to the beach, they just don't have the money right now.

He bites his lip before looking back to Nami. "About that. Any extra shifts I could pick up this week?"

Nami hums in thought and flips through the shift schedule for the week, frowning as she finishes reading the names listed. "Sorry, Ace, but we're covered for the week. Just do your shifts and I'll see if I can talk Shakky into letting you work as a bouncer after your regular shifts, okay?" she says, and it sounds like defeat.

"Right, right…" Ace groans but nods regardless, slumping back to the bar stool. Working long shifts is a pain anyway - he'd have to find Luffy a sitter or something - but he needs the money. Desperately. Nami seems to understand that, and she's quick to jump to happier topics.

"Tonight should be busy, if that helps! See, part of the reason I went to that resort was to see a friend of mine who works there. Funny thing is, it turns out he started a band not too long ago, and they're pretty popular down south. I asked him to do a show here!" Nami grins proudly. "The place should be packed. Fingers crossed they're all real heavy tippers, hm?"

Ace can't quite keep the grin on his face no matter how much he needs the cash. He rests his head in his hands and sighs. The bar is going to open soon. "I should go get ready."

Nami's already getting back to counting the money in the register and only nods absently. Ace walks toward the employee's area. He takes his clothes off quickly and puts on the black uniform and the apron that has the bar's logo on it before he meanders his way back to the bar.

The doors are open already, and Ace can tell it's going to be a busy night. Nami's mixing drinks and talking to some early customers; a couple of locals Ace went to school with. He can't see Luffy anywhere, but he can't see Zoro either. They must have gotten lost.

What a surprise.

"Hey, Portgas-ya!" Law calls out from his seat by the bar. "Come fix me a drink!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ace replies with an easy grin. "The usual?"

"Sure," Law says back, a hint of exasperation in his tone because Law's _usual_ has become somewhat of an inside joke between the medical student and the bar's employees.

Ace pours him water with no ice. "Here you go. Try not to drink it too fast, you're a boring drunk."

Law barely bats an eye, completely unimpressed and unsurprised by the routine welcome greeting. "Thanks, Portgas-ya. Where's your brother?"

Ace shrugs. "Somewhere with Zoro, I'd guess. It's okay, not like there's a lot of people here yet."

"Alright. I brought him some of those pirate books he keeps yammering on about," Law says conversationally, toying with the tiny yellow umbrella Ace'd stuck in his glass. "I have a slight headache, I was hoping those might keep him occupied."

"Not likely," Ace says, almost proudly. "But thanks, Law, that's really considerate of you."

Contrary to what his cold demeanour might initially let on, Law was actually surprisingly good with Luffy. He'd taken care of Luffy's bruises and scraped knees pretty much from the day the boy learned to walk, and he'd even looked after him once or twice. Ace will never stop reminding him of that one time Luffy got Law to dress up as pirates with him. He has pictures.

"No problem. So when's this friend of yours starting his show, Nami-ya?"

"Not for a while, we agreed on them starting around nine or so," Nami replies, "I doubt he's even arrived yet."

Law nods, getting back to the book he's brought with him, and Nami and Ace both know that he doesn't feel like chatting anymore. That's fine by them, and Nami's soon fixing drinks to the first customers while Ace takes inventory and sends some last minute orders.

People start filing through the doors in a steady stream, slowly filling the bar. Ace sees some of them wearing shirts with a logo printed to it; a dragon with its wings spread and teeth bared as blue flames lick its back. He supposes that it's the band's logo. Looks cool.

Law takes off soon enough, saying something about getting those books he's brought, but Ace doesn't pay much attention his words.

It's been an hour since he's last seen Luffy anywhere, and that would make Ace worry if it wasn't for the fact that he just doesn't have the time. The last of the tables are starting to fill with people and the line to the bar nearly reaches the far wall, and it's all Ace can do to just keep mixing cocktails and handing out beers. Besides, he trusts Zoro.

As always, Zoro's lost but eventually found. He wanders back just as Ace is about to go look for him, carrying Luffy on his back and holding a bottle of juice in one of his hands. Ace would have thought it endearing if Luffy and Zoro hadn't been gone for _over an hour._ "Where were you?" he snaps without looking up from the limes he's cutting.

Luffy smiles widely, completely oblivious to Ace's ire. "Zoro showed me his bike! It was painted again!"

Ace aims a glare Zoro's way. He'd seen the bouncer's motorcycle outside; now emblazoned with what looks like a brand of green hellfire. He's not exactly surprised that Luffy's absolutely thrilled by the sight of it, but that's still no excuse. "Did he now?" he mutters, and his next slice is a bit more forceful than entirely necessary, "You could have texted me, you know."

Zoro at least has the decency to look flustered. "Yeah, but it was a spur of the moment kind of thing, I didn't think I'd need my phone. Usopp did a good job this time." He grins up at Luffy when the child snickers in agreement, but soon looks to Ace, understanding and accepting of his anger. "Look, sorry. I didn't plan to be away for this long, but someone moved my bike."

Ace hears Nami snort loudly from where she's fixing up a Bloody Mary. "Right!" she calls out incredulously, "Just like the last what, twenty times? I mean, just start taking the bus, Zoro — if you're late for work one more time because you got lost I'm taking the time off your pay."

"Shut up. I'm not going to take the bus." Zoro scowls in mild annoyance. "It's… Shit, it wasn't where I left it, okay?"

"Zoro was stupid and he got lost!" Luffy reveals, although it hardly comes as a surprise to anyone. Zoro sighs and starts explaining that _no, he wasn't lost, some punk must have just moved his bike —_

Ace stops listening, having heard the same words for about a thousand times already. He barely even bats an eye when Luffy bounces off Zoro's back and lands squarely on the bar counter. He only moves his cutting board so that he doesn't hit Luffy with the knife as he continues his task.

"You have got to come see it, Ace," Luffy beams with a grin that's impossibly wide on such a small face. "It has flames on it! Like it's on fire!"

"Yeah, I saw it," Ace says, focusing on making the slices somewhat even. "We can go check it out later."

"Zoro said he'd take me for a drive someday!" Luffy exclaims next, completely overlooking the urgent hand gestures that Zoro is making in a desperate attempt to get Luffy to shut up.

Ace side-eyes the bouncer and shakes his head. "Only if that someday is about ten years in the future. You're _way_ too small and scrawny, Lu. One small breeze and you'll fly right off."

"Hey!" Luffy starts, balling his small hands into tight fists. "I wouldn't fly off!"

Ace fights back a laugh. His kid brother is so quick to anger that riling him up like this is almost too easy, but that's never stopped Ace before. "Sure you wouldn't. I bet I could send you flying with a sneeze, Lu."

"Shut up!" Luffy yells, nearly shaking with annoyance. "Besides, I'm not small, I'm strong!"

"You can be both at the same time, Luffy," Nami says, trying to nib the temper tantrum in the bud. She aims a meaningful look Ace's way. "I'm sure you'll be taller than Ace when you grow up, too."

"Really?" Luffy asks in disbelief, and his entire face lights up with determination and glee. "Yeah, of course I will be! My punch will be as strong as a pistol, and I'll win all wrestling matches!"

"I'd like to see that someday, squirt," Ace says, and he's only half joking.

He gets back to the limes, his frame now much more relaxed that Luffy's right next to him. Law meanders back, showing Luffy the books he's brought with him, and the kid spends the next hour making Law read every word painstakingly. The band starts setting up somewhere in between books three and four, and Ace follows their work with idle curiosity.

There's four of them, as far as he can tell. One's a short girl with reddish brown hair that just reaches her shoulders. She plays the bass. Behind her is a lanky old man with an afro, sitting by the synthesiser and telling a joke to a blond guy who's setting up the drums. The drummer is wearing a suit that's far too formal for the event, but what makes it really silly is the lollipop clenched tight in between his teeth. Nami waves at him and says something about the drummer being her friend, Sanji. She fails to notice that Ace is hardly even listening after the first two words.

The lead singer has just stepped on the stage.

He's tall, too, and looks to be around Ace's age. His strawberry blond hair is shaven from one side of his head and frames his face with wild curls on the other, and he has a pair of glasses on his nose. There's an electric guitar hanging from a strap around the guy's neck, decorated with flames that start from the fret line and end to form a pair of wings on the body. Ace thinks it's really beautiful, and that extends to more than just the instrument itself.

The blond fixes his hold on the guitar and starts strumming a few notes to test the pitch. Ace follows his deft fingers with rapt attention, and the guitarist happens to look up, meeting the bartender's gaze. His eyes are green and sharp, glinting in the dim lights. Ace quickly looks elsewhere.

The guy's kind of cute and, _shit_ , if that isn't just the most annoying thing that's happened all night.

"What are you looking at, Acey?" Luffy asks, standing on his toes to see past the high bar counter. "Is it something cool?"

"Um, the band's setting up, Lu. That's all," Ace mumbles, caught off guard. Luffy rubbernecks at the group of musicians, bouncing up and down to sneak a peek until Ace finally relents and lifts him up to his lap. Luffy wraps his legs around Ace's waist comfortably, and his face splits into a wide, awed grin the second he sees the flames that are etched on all the band members' clothes and instruments.

"They look so cool! Hey, Ace, I get to listen to them play, right?"

Ace takes a quick look at the clock. It's nearly nine, which translates to bed time in seven-year-old language, but it's also Friday and school's out tomorrow. It's a grey area. He hums in thought. "For the first set, maybe. But only if you don't bug me while I work."

Luffy seems torn between a whine and a triumphant laugh, and the noise he lets out is accordingly bizarre. "Okay!" he says. "But I'm all done with my homework, Ace! Torao helped me, he's really smart!"

"That's good," Ace commends, already reaching below the counter to fetch Law a new glass of water. "Thanks, Law."

He sets Luffy down so the kid can deliver the glass. Law is sitting behind them, reading some thesis with a focused frown now that he's finished with the oh so challenging first grade reading materials. He doesn't even look up when Luffy puts the glass on the table next to him. Ace sometimes wonders why he even bothers coming to bars when he doesn't drink and he hates the crowd; instead always winding up hiding at the bar with Ace and Luffy. Seriously, what kind of regular is Law, anyway; he's never even drunk a root bear or anything.

"Torao, come look at the band!"

Law sighs and puts down his book. He gets up and walks over to Ace with the glass in his hand, leaning languidly on the bar counter to Ace's left. "It's no problem, Portgas-ya. I should head home before the band starts, anyway."

"Aw, why wouldn't you want to listen?" Luffy asks, genuinely confused as to why someone would come to a concert and then leave before it even starts. "They have _fire_ on their clothes! It's like they're…" he pauses and stars of pure awe light in his eyes, "Torao! It's like they're dragons! You need to stay!"

Ace chortles, his eyes flickering to the stage and to the blond guitarist. Law follows his line of sight and raises a single eyebrow, glancing at Ace. Ace is suddenly all too aware of the slight blush on his cheeks, and he shakes his head, hoping to clear his mind.

Law tries and fails to hide a laugh. Ace shoots him a look before he ruffles Luffy's hair. "Yeah, you should definitely stay, Law. You need to tell me _all about_ those pirate books."

"Fine," Law says, and a small smirk tugs at the corner of his lips. "You should go ask for an autograph later, Ace-ya."

"Screw you."

"Language."

Ace covers Luffy's ears, which is really a moot point because the kid knows pretty much all the bad words by now, in multiple languages. Thanks for that, Auntie Robin. Luffy is too enthralled by the band to pay attention to them, anyway. "Fuck you, _Torao_."

Law laughs at that, and finishes his drink while the trio watches the band run sound checks. It'll still be a while before they start playing, and Ace can't wait to hear what their music sounds like. He entertains the thought of bringing them all drinks, on the house of course, but he chickens out. What if the guitarist is a recovering alcoholic or something? He can't just go over there. He can't.

Instead, he plays games with Luffy and talks to Nami whenever he gets the chance, but the bar is busy and Ace can't keep an eye on his little brother all the time. It's only thanks to Zoro's help that Luffy doesn't completely wreck the bar or worse, start wandering.

Ace mixes drinks after drinks and tries to keep a smile on his face, but it's hard to concentrate. The guitarist hasn't been back onstage for a long time now, and Ace can't help but search for him every two seconds. Just a quick sweep off the dance floor, no harm done. There's a warm hum in the bottom of his stomach that spreads to his cheeks and neck, and it almost feels uncomfortable, but isn't.

Ace looks at the clock and realises with a start that it's almost ten. The band's yet to start, and he did promise to let Luffy watch the first set, but the kid is already drooping. "Oi, Luffy —"

"What?" Luffy mumbles. He's sitting on the floor, leaning to Ace's legs as the older keeps on mixing drinks and running the tabs. Ace can see that he's obviously tired.

"It's time for bed," he says gently. "I'll take you downstairs."

"But Ace, the band hasn't started yet!" Luffy yawns. "And I'm not tired at all…"

"Sure you're not."

Luffy raises his hands drowsily, asking for Ace to pick him up. Ace shouts a quick warning to Nami that he'll go put his brother to bed, and then he pulls Luffy in his arms. The kid sags against him, but his head keeps turning and he keeps insisting that he's not tired in the least. He's a terrible liar.

On a normal night, the bar is usually still half empty and its clientele still relatively sober, so walking through the bar to get to the back rooms is no problem. This time, however, Shakky's is filled to the brim with drunk dancers who've collectively lost the ability to censor their speech in front of children about five beers ago. Ace takes one look at the seven-year-old who's holding his eyelids open just to stay awake, and he slips out the side door.

Cold air hits their faces, bringing the smell of the sea with it. Luffy blinks owlishly and rubs his eyes. "Why did we go outside, Acey? Are we leaving? My books are still inside."

"No, we're just taking a detour."

"Mmh-kay." Luffy's eyelids are slipping shut again. "Can we go see the band later?"

There's someone outside, loitering in the shadows with a bottle in his hand. Ace keeps his eyes on the stranger, and makes sure to step far out if his way before he replies. "They'll be gone when you wake up, Lu. Sorry."

Luffy nods, too tired to protest. "I wanted to see them. They look cool."

Ace can feel the man's eyes on his back. Unnerved by the stranger's scrutiny, he furrows his brow and squeezes Luffy a bit tighter. "Some other time."

Ace gets Luffy back into the bar, to the staff's quarters. After Luffy's brushed his teeth and changed into his little pyjamas, they settle onto a bumpy old couch. At Luffy's insistence, Ace tells him a quick bedtime story about pirates who fight dragons and swim with mermaids. Luffy gets a good night's kiss pressed on his forehead, and then Ace's walking back out again. He doesn't feel like elbowing his way through the crowd with or without Luffy.

The guy's still there, and he still stares at Ace when he walks past him. Ace can't quite make out his face, hidden in the dark as he is. He scowls, annoyed by the idea that he's just eye candy to some other drunkard. "What's your problem?"

"Was that your kid or something?" the guy asks.

"None of your business."

"Yeah, you're right. I just… A bit young to hang out in a bar, isn't he?"

Ace turns to leave, muttering an insult under his breath. The stranger steps out of the shadows hurriedly, running a hand through his blond hair that's now shimmering in the moonlight. "Hey, sorry! I didn't mean to pry, I… I was just wondering; you know?"

After years of hearing people tell him that he's doing everything wrong with Luffy, Ace ignores him almost automatically. He already knows all that. "Like I said, it's none of your business."

Without warning there's a hand on his shoulder, a gentle weight, and Ace stills. He tilts his head to glare at first the hand - scarred skin catches his attention - and then follows the arm to the person it belongs to. His breath almost hitches.

It's the guitarist.

The blond man's smile is placating, and he's looking at Ace like he's searching for any hints of discomfort, any cue telling him that his touch is unwanted. Ace gives him no such signs, and the guy relaxes. "That, uh, that didn't come out right, sorry. I'm not really good at picking ice breakers."

"You don't say," Ace mutters, still wary. He pauses, looking into the man's deep green eyes. One of them is lighter than the other, framed by a myriad of dark red scars. "You're the guitarist from that band," he hears himself say.

"Yup. I'm Sabo, the lead guitarist of the Blue Scales. I kind of came up with the name, too." The man's – Sabo's smile is warm, white teeth flashing behind full lips. "What's your name?"

There's a funny feeling in his stomach Ace hasn't felt for years, not since his first dates way back when. He fumbles for his next words. "Wha-h?" he answers, eloquent as always, and Sabo snorts out a laugh. Ace's eyes flicker to the hand that returns from his shoulder to the blond's side, and he finds it a bit hard to concentrate. "Uh, Ace. My name's Ace."

A weird look flits across Sabo's features, and Ace suddenly has the feeling the other's just as lost as he is. Soon enough, Sabo's grinning again, and Ace can see it now; see what's made a small-scale rock star out of the kind of awkward blond. It's a weird mix of personalities, uncertain and charismatic facets blending into one. "I saw you tending the bar earlier, looking at us. At me."

Ace can feel his cheeks flush. "I — uh. I guess I did. We don't get live bands that often." He pauses, watching the way Sabo's Adam's apple bobs as he takes a long swig out if his water bottle. "What are you doing out here, anyway? Weren't you supposed to start like fifteen minutes ago?"

"Um, yeah. We were. There were some technical problems." Sabo fidgets. "As in, our drummer and one of the bouncers here got into a fight and now we need to find a new pair of drumsticks before we start. The old ones were destroyed and Sanji forgot to bring a spare pair."

"A bouncer?" Ace repeats. He's been wondering where Zoro ran off to. "Did he by chance have green hair?"

"He did, actually."

"Huh."

Neither speaks for a while, and then, Sabo chuckles. "I wanted to get some fresh air anyway. There's a lot of people inside." Sabo pauses, and he rocks himself on his heels for a passing moment; like he's gaining momentum to say his next words. "Are you going to stay and see the show?"

Ace finds himself smiling a bit, less reserved than before. "Well, sure, I work here."

"That's good. Maybe after the show we can —"

Before Sabo can finish, Ace's phone vibrates to signal a new message from Nami, and Ace is suddenly all too aware of the fact that he's taken way too long and Nami's now going to kill him. "Shit. Sorry, I have to go! See you later!"

He turns on his heels and sprints back inside. Sabo's left standing there with his mouth hanging open.

* * *

...

* * *

The band starts playing over two hours late, and Ace has to admit that they're actually pretty good. Their music is catchy; upbeat rock pieces mixed with sombre ballads, and the audience generally seems to like the show. Sabo sings, too, which comes as a bit of a surprise to Ace. He isn't half bad either. Ace finds himself humming along to the tunes and forming the words on his lips while Sabo sings them.

"River of Freedom, huh?" he mutters to himself, leaning on the bar counter.

Most of the customers are by now either busy trying to get into each other's pants or too drunk to even move, and for the time being Ace has a moment to himself. He spends most of his time pretending not to look at the band. Sabo looks his way once or twice, and Ace tries and fails to look busy whenever he does. He fixes himself a drink, nothing too strong, and cleans the same part of the counter three times in the span of a minute.

Nami's dancing beside him, singing along and whooping whenever Sanji has a drum solo. They're close friends, Ace has learned, and have known each other for years. What's surprising is Nami telling him that _Luffy's_ met Sanji, too. Sanji had once been visiting Nami just as she was babysitting the child, and the two had made fast friends.

Ace entertains the thought of waking Luffy up before the band has the chance to leave, but ruining Luffy's sleep and risking his sour mood the next day isn't worth it. A tired Luffy is a cranky Luffy, and if possible even _more_ hyper excitable and therefore deadly.

Sometime after the first set is over and the band has disappeared backstage, Zoro walks over, a bit more bruised than he was the last time Ace saw him. He runs himself a beer and sits down on one of the bar stools.

"You look like shit," Ace remarks.

"You should see the other guy."

Ace nods toward the drummer onstage. "I can see him just fine. You should be grateful Nami didn't see you, or, God forbid, _Shakky_ could have seen you. She just got here."

Zoro shudders. "That's something I'd rather avoid, yeah. But the guy's a total prick."

Ace's laugh comes out chiming and care-free, and Zoro grins at him in between sips. He clinks glasses with Ace. "You're drinking, too? Wow, must be a wild night."

Ace smiles. "Yeah, I put Luffy to bed in the back room and it's quiet out here, so I figured why not."

"You put Luffy in the back room?" Zoro rubs the back of his head, his brow furrowing with confusion. "Ace, Lu's not there."

"What do you mean? Of course he's there, he's sleeping. I took him there myself."

Zoro remains expressionless, but Ace can hear the urgency in his voice. "I'm telling you, I was just there, and the room's empty. Luffy's not there, I — I thought he was with you."

Time seems to still. Ace's breath catches in his throat; freezing there and settling into a lump of something cold and scary that makes it hard to talk. "What? You — Luffy... What do you mean he's not there?!" Zoro just looks at him sternly, and that's enough in its own to calm Ace down by a fraction. "I… I gotta go," he mutters. "Cover for me?"

"Yeah. Text me when you find him, okay? I'll let the Witch know, and we'll keep an eye out here," Zoro promises. Ace nods and smiles gratefully, but all hints of glee are soon washed away from his face and replaced with a worried scowl. He circles the dance floor, scouring the crowd with his eyes, but he doesn't see Luffy.

He should have known Luffy would wake up to the loud music and decide to go out and investigate, should have guessed that he'd want to see Sanji and the instruments up close, he should have...

Should haves are fun - not - and Ace can be mad at himself and his brother as much as he wants. _Later._ For now, the fact of the matter remains that he's brought a seven-year-old to a bar of all places, and Luffy's never been one to stay still.

He does his best to ignore the pang of worry and panic that screams something about the bar being full of people and how kids are kidnapped every day and… Yeah, Ace will certainly dwell on that later. For now, he needs to find his idiot of a little brother who's _so getting his tiny ass kicked._ Once he's found and safe, that is.

Ace nearly pushes some drunk dancer off her feet in his rush to get to the door that leads to the staff rooms. Where he left Luffy. He slams the door open, nearly panting. It's empty. Panic mounts, and Ace lets out a strangled sound that catches at the back of his throat. He spins on his heels and elbows his way to the stage where he sees the drummer flirting up some local girls.

"Where's Luffy?" Ace blurts out the second he gets within talking distance, cutting off Sanji's story about some dish he'd cooked for the most beautiful woman of the world.

Sanji's brow knits with annoyance, and Ace earns himself a confused glare. "Hell if I know. Home, I'd guess? Who are you?"

Sanji doesn't even wait to listen to Ace's reply. Instead he turns back to his companions and apologises to the fair ladies for using such coarse language in their presence, and Ace's just about had it.

He growls. "He _was_ here, and now he's missing. He wanted to see you, so I'll ask again. Have you seen my little brother?"

Sanji's sole visible eye widens with realisation, and he takes a quick glance around. "Lu's here? You must be Ace then. Look, I haven't seen him, but if he shows up I'll find you, okay?" Sanji looks troubled, glancing at the girls before turning back to Ace. "I had no idea he was here. Do you need help finding him?"

There's a loud, abrupt crash and the sounds of people shouting not too far away. Ace sighs. "I think I just did. Thanks anyway."

He's turned on his heels and stormed off before Sanji even has the chance to blink. The sound came from somewhere behind his back, so that's where Ace darts to next. He hears someone bark angry insults, and Ace braces himself for what he's about to find. He pushes himself past the people who've crowded around something, and Ace's eyes widen as he takes in the scene before him.

For one, he sees Luffy, which is good, but that's just about where the good parts end and the shit part starts. Luffy's little arms are flailing furiously in the air, his legs kicking in every direction as some local drunk holds him up by the collar of his pyjamas and shouts livid words in his face.

Ace takes a deep breath and frames a small, reassuring smile on his face. His voice comes out hoarse regardless — he can only barely reign himself in. "Luffy? That you, bud?"

Luffy stills and his head turns slowly. He looks so relieved to see Ace that it aches. "Hi, Ace."

"Is this your brat?" the guy holding Luffy up snaps. His voice is slurred with alcohol and his eyes are slightly glazed over. "What the fuck is he doing in a bar? This isn't a damn pre-school."

Ace forces himself to still, to think before he acts. Anger is fast rising inside him, boiling its way up his throat; threatening to spill and settle into something volatile and dangerous, and Ace doesn't want to do anything rash. Not when this unknown man still holds his little brother up in the air. "I know it isn't. Put him down now and we can talk, please."

The guy sneers at Ace and drops Luffy down unceremoniously, but not after shaking the kid in the air for good measure. Luffy gets up and rushes to Ace in a heartbeat, clinging to his waist. "I'm sorry, sorry Ace, I didn't mean to, it's just… the band and… _that guy's a jerk_!" he declares, pointing at the man. "It was an accident, anyway!"

The man snorts. "That kid fell on our table and spilled all our drinks! My fucking coat is ruined."

Ace gives Luffy a questioning look. "I tripped," Luffy says, "I wanted to see the band and I ran into something."

"It's okay. We'll talk about that later." Ace smoothes Luffy's hair with his hand, partly to calm himself down. Luffy smiles and nods, mistakenly thinking he's off the hook.

Ace spares a glance at the seething drunk. "I'm sorry for the trouble. We'll be getting out of your hair now." Ace turns to steer Luffy far away from the stench of old booze and the threat of drunken violence. They're stopped by the man's shrill, indignant cry.

"How about—" The man hiccups. "How about you get me a new drink and take your kid back home to Mommy? Maybe she can kick some sense into 'im, eh?"

Ace grits his teeth. He doesn't miss the way Luffy's burrowing himself closer to him, clutching onto his shirt with one hand.

"He's a piece of shit, that kid," the man continues to drawl drunkenly, "Little boys like that need a good beating. Punch some manners into him, make them bleed the stupid out."

Ace takes a deep breath and turns to look at the man who'd thrown his brother around like a ragdoll. He remembers the way Luffy was bruised when they first met, remembers his Gramps' Fists of Love and the fact that Luffy had gone through the same training as he had as a kid. Never again.

"— Ought to call the goddamn social services on you, you know, that kid's a fucking menace." The guy stumbles toward Ace and Luffy, and at this point Ace knows that he's just looking for a bar fight. "I bet your Momma wishes you were never born."

The man looks at Luffy with contempt, and the kid hides behind Ace. From the corner of his eye, Ace can see a budding bruise in the back of his little brother's neck. It all rubs Ace the wrong way.

Something inside him snaps.

Before he knows it, the knuckles of his right hand have burst open and started to bleed, and the man is reeling back with a broken nose. He's knocked back into the booth where he blinks his eyes open and looks at Ace with shock and anger written all over his face. He shouts through bloody teeth. "You, ouch, fuck — You bastard! I'll sue you, I'll sue this place! I'll make sure you'll never work again!"

 _Shit._

Ace picks up his shell shocked little brother, but he barely registers it. He didn't mean to do that, not in front of Luffy, not at work. The anger that burned right under his skin just moments ago has now turned to ice in his veins, chilling him to his core with a building horror. He can hear people clamouring around them and someone calling for the bouncer, but Ace can't move. It's like he's glued to the floor.

He can see Shakky in the corner of his eye. She looks surprised and regretful. Ace wonders if he'll be fired for this.

He can only barely hear the people around him — not even the man he just hit despite the fact he's shouting, getting up with his fist clenched. Ace can't make out the words over the sound of blood rushing in his ears.

The man's fist flies toward his face, only to be knocked away harmlessly by Zoro's scabbard. They're guided away from the crowd, away from the questions and yelled insults. Ace clutches Luffy to himself the whole time, using the kid's warm weight as his last tether to reality.

Zoro takes Luffy to the back room, where Nami is waiting. Luffy's crying, soft sobs hitching in his throat. Ace finds himself in Shakky's office moments later. She wears a grim expression and speaks in a tone of finality.

Ace can't think straight.

He fucked up.

* * *

...

* * *

After his talk with Shakky, Ace walks to the back room in a haze. He hardly even registers the world around him, too caught up with his thoughts and the effort it takes to just put one foot in front of the other. He'd been holding an icepack to his bruised knuckles awkwardly, but it disappears at some point during his walk through the bar without Ace ever registering it.

He feels numb.

He reaches the back room, and he takes a moment piece himself back together before turning the knob. As he'd expected, Nami's there, reading Luffy a story. Luffy's head is in his lap, and she's idly running her fingers through the tufts of his jet black hair. They look peaceful and exhausted, but Ace doesn't fail to notice Luffy's red rimmed eyes or the stuffed reindeer that's clutched firmly against his chest. Riding a swell of anguish and guilt, Ace stays at the door and just looks at them.

The story of the night seems to be Jack and the Beanstalk, only with pirates, which of course makes it infinitely cooler in Luffy's eyes. Nami's just finished reading the part where the pirate captain climbs up the massive beanstalk and fights the Giant in the middle of a thunderstorm, all just to save his friends and claim the crown of the Pirate King.

Ace smiles unwittingly. He knows the story by heart after reading and acting it out at couple of bazillion times in the past years. Nami spots him as she's closing the book, and they share a long look.

"Looks who's here, Lu." Nami sounds disheartened, almost wistful. She gets up and walks past Ace as they switch places. "Good luck," she whispers on her way out.

"Ace?" Luffy blinks slowly as if to make sure he's not seeing things, and then he springs up and wraps his arms around Ace's neck, hugging him tightly. "Where were you? I didn't know where they took you after you socked that guy in the face! That was super awesome though!" He quickly looks away from Ace. "I wasn't scared at all."

Ace sits on the bed with his back against the wall, and he pulls Luffy in his lap. "No, it wasn't cool or awesome. It was stupid. I was stupid." He pauses, looking into Luffy's round, expectant eyes. "And it's okay if you were scared, Lu. I won't laugh at you."

Luffy scoffs with mock bravado. His lips are pursed like he's about to whistle, and Ace can tell he's doing his best to appear unaffected. "I wasn't scared. At all!"

Ace smiles fondly beside himself and ruffles Luffy's hair. "Okay, okay hotshot. Settle down." He yawns exaggeratedly, stretching his arms. "What were you doing out of bed, anyway? I told you to just wait for me here, and _sleep."_

Luffy gulps and avoids Ace's gaze. "The band was playing really loudly, I couldn't sleep. And I wanted to see Sanji and his drums!"

There's a hard edge to Ace's words when he speaks. "You could have been hurt, Lu. That was reckless, you little idiot."

"But I wasn't hurt!" Luffy barks back. "I could have beaten him myself, too, he just got really mad!"

Ace takes a deep breath, hoping to regain his composure.

He wants to scold Luffy for being so reckless and putting himself in harm's way, and a part of him wants to be angry at his little brother. Mostly he just wants to explain why what he did was wrong, to put consequences to his brother's actions — the brand new pirate books will go for a time out, at least, if Ace finds the balls to withstand Luffy's puppy eyes.

And he will do all that, but not now. He can yell at Luffy all he wants after they've both had a good night's sleep, but right now just sitting there and seeing Luffy laugh and smile is reassurance enough that they'd survived unscathed, and that they would continue to do so. Besides, by driving Luffy away now, Ace would be forced to actually _think_ about what happened.

Change of topic is in order, then. "You tired?"

"Nuh-uh." Luffy hides a yawn into his sleeve. "Did Shaggy yell at you for punching that guy?"

"No, she didn't yell. She was just sad I hit him, it, uh— It wasn't smart of me."

"Did you say you're sorry? It's all okay now, right?"

"It's…" Ace fumbles for words, "It's complicated. It might be that we won't come to the bar that often anymore, Lu. I don't work here anymore."

Luffy stares at him with his brow furrowed. "You got fired?"

"Yeah."

They sit in silence for a while, which is a rare thing when dealing with Luffy. After the moment's passed, Luffy rubs his eyes and then huffs. "I'm not sad you did it," he mutters. "That guy was a jerk and a meanie. I just tripped, that's all! It's not fair that you don't have a job anymore."

"Sometimes people act without thinking when they're drunk," Ace tries to explain. He doesn't know what to say or what to do. "It'll be okay, Lu. I'll find some other job."

"But he's a bully, Ace!" Luffy says pointedly, crossing his little arms. "I don't like bullies."

Ace sighs and runs a hand through his messy hair, scrambling for words to explain the concept of rude idiots to Luffy. His vernacular falls a bit short, what with all the curse words being a no-no and all. "I know you don't, Lu. Some people just aren't as nice as others."

"That's stupid."

"Yeah."

"I won't let them fire you, Ace."

Ace manages a reassuring smile. He scoops Luffy up in his arms instead and hugs him tight. "That's something neither of us can control, sorry bud. I'm just happy you're okay."

And Luffy grins up at him, all hints of worry and unhappiness wiped away from his face as fast as they got there. Ace smiles as well. Their troubles don't feel that dark and insurmountable with Luffy's bright smile lighting the way, and as always, Ace soaks up the warmth that seems to come off his little brother in waves.

They'll make it work. They always have.

* * *

...

* * *

Luffy falls asleep in his lap, dead to the world and fitful in his sleep, and Ace is then forced to evacuate himself out of the room lest he'd find a tiny foot in his ribs and a small fist in his eye. For a seven-year-old Luffy packs quite the punch, even if Ace would never say that to his face.

Being back in the bar makes the colour seem to bleed out of the bar and throw the events of the night back into sharp relief in Ace's mind. His right hand aches suddenly and without thinking, his eyes trail to where he'd lost his job. Ace shakes his head and squares his shoulders. He makes a beeline to the bar where Nami still lingers, counting the register — he doesn't want to talk, and he only has precious little time to get as hammered as possible before Luffy wakes up.

Oblivious to his plans, Nami steps closer, reaching a hand out as if to touch Ace's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She changes her mind at the last minute, and simply sighs instead. "None of us wanted for that to happen. You understand that, right?"

Ace wants to snap at her and tell her to go away. "I do."

"If only we'd spotted Luffy sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Maybe." Ace rubs the heel of his palm against his eyes. "I'd really just like to be alone now, Nami. If you don't mind."

"Yeah, I get it." Nami gives Ace a pitying look, and Ace knows she's hesitant about leaving him by himself now. But he doesn't want to talk; not when Nami will still have a job to return to tomorrow and he doesn't.

"We all care about you a lot, the both of you. We'll help in any way we can."

Ace grabs himself a bottle, and Nami says nothing of it. He musters a small smile. "I'll be fine, Nami. I just need a moment, yeah?"

She nods, hesitant, and Ace can distantly hear her say some clichéd words of reassurance — _everything will be okay in the end, think of this as a start of something new_ , shit like that, and then she's gone.

Ace is alone.

"Shit," he mutters, clenching his hands in his hair. "Shit shit shit shit _shit_."

He doesn't have a job anymore, and the pile of bills that waits for them on their kitchen table isn't going to get any smaller. If he can't find some other job, _fast_ , they won't be able pay for utilities and rent this month. And even if he gets a job, there's nothing saying his next boss will be as accepting as Shakky. What if he won't allowed to take Luffy with him? He'd have to either come up with something really unorthodox to hire a sitter, or worse; he would have to leave Luffy at home by himself. Luffy doesn't do well with being alone.

Ace groans. He thinks absently that tomorrow's going to be hell for more than one reason; Luffy hasn't slept at all. Well, they'll take naps together — it's not like Ace has work or something.

He wasn't fired, per se, but he might as well have been. Shakky had been apologetic but stern, and only promised to hire Ace again as a last resort. Which is better than nothing, he supposes, but there's still a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that finding a new job that'll cover all their expenses won't be all that easy.

And it's all his fault.

As long as he can keep Luffy well fed and smiling, he'll be fine with whatever comes. Be it working around the clock for shit pay or resulting in some underground work – he still has Marco's number, and mob work has always paid well – Ace will live through it. He just might have the beries to keep himself fed and clothed, but there's no point in even entertaining the thought. It's been years since he's as much as pictured a life without Luffy, and now the idea feels alien and unwanted.

Besides, if he can't even take care of his little brother, what does his own life merit to?

Suddenly, someone's voice cuts through the oppressing silence and snaps Ace out of his lamentations. "Hey, Nami, Sanji told me you'd — Oh. Did she leave already?"

Ace spares only a brief look at Sabo, who's standing in the doorway with a large box in his hands. Ace wipes his eyes and fixes his face into a mask of cold indifference. "You just missed her. It's just me."

"Well shit. Hey, can I leave this here? It's some merch for the band, Nami promised to sell them here if she gets sixty percent of all the profit."

Ace waves something that could be a vague sort of way of saying yes, and the box thuds to the ground behind him. He waits in silence, fingering the brim of his glass impatiently, but Sabo shows no signs of leaving. On the contrary, he can hear Sabo walking closer, his stride slow and uncertain — like he knows he's walking on thin ice. With each step it becomes clearer and clearer to Ace that Sabo's got no intention to leave.

And Ace wonders why he wouldn't; surely he must have heard the commotion, he must know that Ace's a dangerous, volatile guy who brings little kids to bars and lets them run around with drunks. Trying to dispel the air of defeat around him, Ace shakes his head and shuts his eyes. Maybe talking to an outsider for a while will take his mind off things.

"So, you having a party or something?" Sabo asks, but he doesn't manage to sound as light hearted as Ace suspects he'd hoped to.

He snorts humourlessly. "Not exactly, no. You want a drink?"

"Sure. Mind if I sit?" Sabo doesn't wait for a reply and sits anyway. Ace isn't sure if he'd denied him had he been given the chance. "I'll have a White Russian or something, I don't know. What's your specialty?"

"Pouring beer from taps."

Sabo laughs. "I'll have that then."

As soon as he has the drink in hand, Sabo gives Ace a cursory glance and opens and closes his mouth a couple of times. Finally deciding on what he'll say, Sabo clears his throat. "So, I know it's none of my business, but care to tell me what this mope fest is for? I've been told I'm a pretty good listener."

Ace stiffens. "You're right, it _is_ none of your business." His words come out a lot harsher than he'd meant them to, and Sabo backs away with his hands in the air.

"Hey, I get it, you don't—"

"No," Ace cuts him off, clenching his eyes shut again. "Shit, uh — I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap." Ace sighs and leans on his hands. "I've had a bit of a rough night."

"I heard." Sabo sounds sombre all of a sudden. "And I'm really sorry about all that. Losing your job is tough."

Ace furrows his brow slightly, and his tone turns into something sharp and accusing. "You already knew? Well in that case there's no point in asking. Or did you just want to unlock my tragic backstory or something?"

Sabo's smile is crooked and understanding. "That's such a tired joke. And I don't think I'm a level four friend yet, don't you agree?"

Ace nearly chokes on his drink, and then bursts out into a short and tired fit of laughter. "Today's been so fucking bizarre, you have no idea. It's been a shit day, the worst I've had in a long time, but _so fucking weird."_

Sabo says nothing, and neither does Ace. He's suddenly exhausted, but he's certain the Sandman would just scoff and walk past him even if he did try to sleep. Regardless, Ace drifts off, and he nearly forgets Sabo's sitting on a stool right next to him.

When Sabo coughs awkwardly and starts talking again, Ace almost jumps. "So do you? Want to talk about it, I mean. I swear I'm not trying to pry or anything, you just look like you're about to burst. Or like you're going to drown yourself in that glass," Sabo rambles. "Whichever comes first, and I rather like you, you know, in one piece."

Caught off guard, words spill out of Ace's mouth faster than he can stop them. "It's just, I don't know what to do? I don't have a job anymore, and my other job doesn't pay nearly this much. My landlord's going to kill me and then throw me out, and Luffy's—" he catches up to himself, looks up to meet Sabo's sympathetic eyes, and hangs his head. "I just… I don't know what to do," Ace mutters, the words drifting on a hitching exhale.

Some part of him realises that he's just damn near sobbed in front of a total stranger, but Ace can't bring himself to care. For some reason, Sabo feels familiar and trustworthy, like an old friend he's known for years. He can feel the heat radiating off the blond's body and see the patches of scarred skin that litter his left arm, and Ace finds himself staring at Sabo's fingers.

He doesn't realise he's reached out to touch the red scars until he's tracing them with one hand. Sabo's skin is warm against his. Sabo blinks in surprise but he doesn't try to pull away, and when Ace does, Sabo simply intertwines their fingers.

"You can just ask, you know?" he jokes dryly. "I got them many years ago, in a fire. And no, they don't hurt."

Ace kind of chokes on the air in his lungs because this should be awkward; he only met this guy today and now he's holding his hand for fuck's sake. But it doesn't feel weird at all.

He gives Sabo a small smile and then pulls his hand back. "Yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. They fit." Sabo raises an eyebrow in question, and Ace rushes to continue, "— with the whole rock star thing. They fit."

"Hmm, I guess so?" Sabo lifts his hand to inspect it. "I've never thought of it that way. It's pretty badass."

"Yeah," Ace concedes. He runs a hand through his hair wearily. "I should get back to the staff room, I need to get Lu home," He's cut off with a yawn, "—thank God tomorrow's Saturday, I don't think I could have handled taking him to school, shit, it has to be like five am or something."

"It's, uh, a quarter past five," Sabo supplies with a quick look at his wrist watch. "It was nice meeting you, Ace."

Sabo gets up to leave, but his movements are jerky and hesitant. Ace thinks about taking Luffy home and facing a new day as an unemployed deadbeat with a kid relying on him, and he pours himself another drink.

"Hey." Sabo sounds apprehensive. "It's probably a stupid idea, I know, but I don't want to leave like this. You look miserable, and the situation you're in sounds beyond shitty."

Ace takes a long sip of his drink and spins around to face Sabo. "Your point?"

"Well, it's just that we're going to tour the rest of the Grand Line pretty soon, and we've been looking for someone to be our renaissance man."

Now, this has to be a joke. "I can't paint worth shit, you know."

Sabo scowls, frustrated. "No, I mean, we need someone to do all the jobs we don't have time to do. Someone who'd help with setting up and crowd control, and feed Brook's fishes and… There's a lot of stuff to do. Sanji wanted to bring in pyrotechnics, too, so we'd need someone to man those."

Wary optimism buds inside Ace. He can't believe his ears, but then again he can hardly even hear Sabo past the sound of his heart hammering in his chest. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm not sure. I'd need to check with the others, but you seem handy and I like hanging out with you so, mhh, would you like to be our renaissance guy?"

Ace freezes. "I'd need to find someone to tutor Luffy," he says, a kneejerk objection to any new opportunity. There's no way something this good could ever happen to _him._ "I can't just pull him out of school, and we have an apartment here and a life and… I'm sorry, there's no way that would work."

"Koala's a teacher, actually," Sabo mumbles, rubbing the back of his head. He sounds hopeful, somehow. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind. And we can help with all that other stuff, or I can, at least. I studied business for a couple of years before dropping out."

"Oh." Ace racks his brain, but try as he might he can't come up with anything else opposing Sabo's suggestion. He thinks about it, and comes to the thoroughly contemplated conclusion that there's literally nothing holding him back, so _why the fuck not._ The idea itself is damn near exhilarating after years of thinking he'd never get out of Sabaody.

"You'd want to hire me even if that meant Luffy would come along?" he questions, still on the fence. "I won't leave him behind."

Sabo shrugs. "It's fine, I'd never ask anyone to leave their kid – sorry, brother - behind. We mostly do gigs at fairs and such anyway, and almost all the ones we have planned are for family outings and stuff like that; public events. He wouldn't have to be in a bar again. Besides, I think having him tag along would be fun."

Ace has no words for that. He doesn't even dare to blink, as if the smallest action might prove to Sabo that he isn't worth the hassle. "Why would you pick me?" he asks quietly, ready for the disappointment he's sure to come, "you only just met me. I'm a nobody."

"No you're not." Sabo's eyes crinkle up with mirth. "You're Ace, and I want you with us because I think you're interesting. I like you, Ace, I don't want to see you go just yet." Sabo's cheeks flush and he averts his eyes. "Does that make any sense?"

"Y-yeah," Ace replies shakily. Suddenly, before his brain ever has the chance to catch up to him, he finds himself shaking Sabo's hand and pulling the blond into a tight hug. Something wet falls on his cheeks, but Ace ignores it and Sabo pretends not to notice.

Seconds pass, but Ace only tightens his hold on Sabo. He's pretty sure it's just the fatigue and the emotional stress he's under, but in that moment he feels connected to Sabo; like they're kindred spirits. And he feels so, so relieved. They won't starve or go without a roof on their heads, and he won't have to say goodbye.

"Thank you," he whispers, and he can feel Sabo's smile more than he sees it.

Eventually, Ace withdraws, but he doesn't go far. He simply steps back to look into Sabo's moss green eyes, and he smiles. He's a bit breathless and he's sure he looks about as prim and proper as a tornado, but at least he doesn't feel half as rattled as Sabo looks.

He gives Sabo a crooked smile. "I don't know what kind of angel you are, but thank you. Really."

Sabo brushes off his thanks with a grin. "Don't mention it. For what it's worth, I would have punched that guy too."

Ace smiles. "He got off easy. C'mon, let's go tell Luffy. I want you to meet him."

* * *

...

* * *

Some months later finds Ace and Sabo touring the streets of an all new city. They're both holding one of Luffy's hands to prevent the kid from running off for the thousandth time that day, but that doesn't stop Luffy from bouncing up and down excitedly and shouting out things he wants to see and eat and play with.

The city the Blue Scales are performing that night is a port town, and the smell of the sea permeates the air. Seagulls caw above their heads and the warm wind ruffles their already messy bed heads. Ace catches Sabo looking at him with a goofy grin, and he replies with one of his own. "What's on your mind?"

"Just…" Sabo leans over to press a kiss on Ace's cheek, much to Luffy's amusement. "I was thinking about how nice this is. It might sound mean, but I'm glad you got fired."

Ace closes his eyes and lets out a long, languid breath. The midday sun feels warm on his skin, a bit hot; like he's on fire but not burning. He hears Luffy laugh freely at something he saw, and he opens his eyes to look at the sun play on Sabo's hair like it's spun gold. He smiles widely.

"Me too."

* * *

...

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hehee. As someone wise once told me, no modern AU with the ASL brothers is complete without Ace worrying about providing for Luffy, so it just had to be included. Happy (extremely belated) birthday Emy! And thanks to everyone else for reading this, too, please tell me what you think if you can spare a second :D (As a sidenote, don't take little kids to bars people, not that anyone would let you. Let's just say that the Rip Off always has a Bring-Your-Kids-to-Work day, or maybe she fell victim to Luffy's puppy dog eyes of doom. Probably the latter.)**_

 _ **Until next time ~**_


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